Four Ways to Reduce Your Medicare Costs
How to Avoid High Premiums When You Apply for Medicare
When you apply for Medicare, undoubtedly cost will be one of the main things on your mind. Medicare plans can have a wide range of expenses, from low to high, and you need to find the best plan to fit your budget. If you can find a plan with plenty of coverage, with a low price, all the better!
Fortunately, there are options for low-income individuals looking for ways to lower their Medicare costs. Be sure to read further before you apply for Medicare, to get the best deals!
Four Ways To Reduce Your Medicare Costs
1 – Look into Advantage plans
Medicare Advantage is an alternative to traditional Medicare Parts A & B, which can potentially combine health, hearing, vision, and more, into one complete package. Medicare Advantage plans are offered by private insurers, and there are a wide range of options depending on your medical needs.
A great Medicare broker can help you sort through your Advantage options to find the best plan for your budget.
2 – The “extra help” subsidy
For low-income individuals, there is extra help available! The Extra Help Subsidy is designed to make Medicare Part D (the prescription drug coverage) more affordable. It’s automatically available for anyone who is already receiving Medicaid coverage, but people outside the Medicaid program can potentially qualify as well.
If you’re genuinely concerned about paying for your Medicare costs, there’s a very good chance that the Extra Help Subsidy can, indeed, help out.
3 – Deducting premiums from your taxes
Did you know that, in many cases, you can deduct your Medicare costs from your taxes? It’s true! Generally speaking, premiums paid for Medicare Part B or D, or Medicare Advantage, are deductible. However, you must itemize your deductions, and you can only deduct costs that are more than 10% of your gross annual income.
Still, this can be a big help, particularly for those with many medical bills.
4 – Utilize your Health Savings Account (HSA)
If you have a Health Savings Account, such as from investments while employed, this can absolutely be used to pay for your Medicare costs. HSAs can be used to help pay for Parts B and D, as well as Medicare Advantage programs.
However, HSAs cannot be used to pay for “Medigap” coverage from private insurers.
Are you trying to apply for Medicare in California, but aren’t sure how to proceed? Good And Associates can help! Click here to contact us.
